S P I R I T S

        Gestalt theory maintains that perception and other mental phenomena are based on the mind's assimilation and ordering of full patterns and configurations, derived more from their context than from their component parts. The mind naturally seeks to make unified wholes, or "good Gestalts", to create sense and meaning out of existence; these wholes are more significant than, and often largely independent of their constituent parts.

        From: A World of Ideas, by Chris Rohmann, Ballantine Books, 1999.

        According to belief that has persisted since ancient times, the aura is a radiance from the "energy field" that supposedly emanates from and surrounds all living things. It is perceived not by ordinary vision but by clairvoyance. Although no evidence has been found to prove its existence, the concept has thrived as pseudoscience.

        Another pseudoscientific conept is "spirit photography" - the capture of unexplained natural or supernatural images using a camera and film as a form of electronic spirit communicatio. It is believed that spirits radiate electro-magnetic energies which are captured by film devices. No evidence has been found to substantiate the basis of spirit photography.